


Too Late

by borrowedlight



Category: Code Black (TV)
Genre: F/M, Hospital, Romance, fight, prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-31
Updated: 2017-01-31
Packaged: 2018-09-21 04:53:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9532295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/borrowedlight/pseuds/borrowedlight
Summary: A prompt from melikaioke.An unexpected visitor from Leanne's past makes an appearance, and ruffles some feathers.





	

“Nurse, can you finish up here, please? Thank you.” Leanne began taking off her gloves. They had been in Code Black all morning and it had just started to slow down. Sighing, she grabbed the patient’s chart and walked to the nurses’ station. She needed coffee and she needed it soon. As she began scribbling in her notes, she felt a hand run the hollow of her back.

 

“Ethan, what have I told you about touching me at work?” She smiled, turning around. Though it wasn’t who she expected. It wasn’t Ethan, her new found love. Leanne’s smile quickly faded as her eyes scanned the individual in front of her.

 

“Neal?”

 

He grinned back at her before his smile fell, “Wait, who’s Ethan?”

 

“Neal, what are you doing here?” She asked, looking around.

 

“I’m back in town for a conference. I thought I’d come say hi.” 

 

Leanne was in utter shock that the man she used to be madly in love with was standing in front of her once again. However, she was surprised he came to see her after the way things had ended. Neal had broken her heart and then decided to walk out of her life, leaving her for John Hopkins in New Jersey instead. Leanne wasn’t sure how to react to this surprise visit. Part of her wanted to tell him off using some very strong language but the other part of her felt scared thinking her feelings for him would return.

 

Leanne’s focus on Neal was suddenly interrupted when she heard Jesse’s voice calling her name. “Leanne! We need you over here!” 

 

She looked over at Jesse, he was desperately trying to insert an IV into a seizing patient, and then back at Neal who stood there with a blank expression on his face.

 

“Neal, I have to go.” She slammed the cover of the chart shut and gave it to a nurse before running over to help Jesse and the crew. Every now and then she would glance in Neal’s direction, checking to see if he was still there. He was.

 

“Leanne!” Jesse waved a hand in front of her face. “Hey, Leanne! Get back in the game here. We need you.”

 

“Right, sorry.” Leanne’s voice soft. Jesse shot her a curious glare before she shook her head. 

 

“Neal’s back.” 

 

Ignoring the comments he made under his breath, she began working frantically. She barked out orders to the residents and nurses, doing her best to get her head back into the game, to regain her focus. She was inserting a chest tube when she realized she had never gotten a chance to get coffee. It had been hours since she had her last caffeine fix - and now that she saw Neal, she felt almost as if she needed it with a little shot of something stronger.

 

The ER had once again slowed down, giving Leanne a chance to grab the coffee she had been craving since the early hours. She was making her way to the break room when Ethan found her and joined.

 

“Hey, you.” He smiled at her, rubbing the top of her back.

 

She flinched a little at his touch, “Ethan, what have I told you about touching me at work?” Leanne wasn’t sure she wanted colleagues to know that her and Ethan were dating.

 

Ethan noticed her slight aggression, but chose to ignore it. “Are you on your way to get coffee?”

 

“What is that supposed to mean? You think I’m cranky?” She snapped at him.

 

“Uh...No…” He was a bit taken back by her tone. “I only asked because you told me earlier that you forgot to grab a coffee before shift.”

 

The two stopped right in front of the break room door. Leanne looked both ways down the hallway before she grabbed his hand and leaned her forehead into his chest. 

 

She looked up at him, a guilt-ridden expression on her face. “Ugh, I’m sorry. To tell you the truth, I am a little cranky.”  She mumbled looking down at their intertwined hands.

 

“What happened?”

 

“It’s just been a crazy morning. Remind me to tell you later, I need coffee stat.” She smiled.

 

“Well let me join--” Ethan was cut off by his beeper. He was needed in the ER again, one of his patients was coding. “Damn, I gotta go. Enjoy that java, we’ll talk later.” He looked both ways down the hall, just as Leanne had done, before planting a kiss to Leanne’s mouth, his tongue pressing at the seam of her lips. She licked her lips as she watched Ethan leave down the hallway. He was always so sweet to her, no matter her mood.

 

“Who the hell was that?”

 

Leanne spun around rolling her eyes when she realized who it was. “Ugh, my God Neal. Really? I just want my coffee.” She began walking towards the coffee machine.

 

“Yeah, I can tell. You seem quite grumpy.”

 

She froze mid-step. “Excuse me?” She slowly turned around and squinted her eyes a little at him.

 

“God, Leanne it hasn’t been that long! I remember you used to get irritable if you didn’t have your mid-shift coffee.” He raised his hands from his sides a little.

 

“Explain to me again, why you’re here? You shouldn’t even be back here. You don’t work at Angles anymore.” She turned back to the coffeemaker, grabbing the pot and pouring some into a styrofoam cup.

 

“I told you. I’m here for a conference.”

 

Leanne kept her back facing him but turned her head to the side. “No, Neal, what are you doing here? With me? I can’t imagine you expected a warm welcome after the way we ended things.” She slowly pivoted her body to face him again.

 

“What do you mean the way we left things? I transferred to John Hopkins, Leanne. It’s a great hospital.”

 

“Don’t play dumb with me Neal Gregory Hudson. You left me. Things got rocky and you decided to leave without much of a goodbye at all. You know I don’t deal well when people just up and leave my life like that. How dare you.” She stepped closer to him, poking him in the chest with her finger as she spoke. “How dare you.” She brushed his shoulder walking past him.

 

“I’m sorry, Leanne. I was hurting too,” he said as he watched her walk away from him. “I admit, we could have handled the goodbye better.”

 

Her eyes fluttered as the hot moisture in her cup met her lips, “ _ We? _ That’s a good one Neal.”

 

“Now would you mind telling me who the hell you just kissed there in the hallway?”

 

Leanne turned to him, in utter shock. “And why would you care? We’re not exactly together anymore. It’s been a two years and you come back like nothing ever happened between us.”

 

“So you are together…”

 

“No Neal, I love kissing random strangers in the hallways of where I work. Really. It’s a new hobby.” She hissed.

 

“How long have you been seeing him?” 

 

“What is with all the questions? I don’t answer to you anymore.” She her free hand on her hip.

 

“That long huh?” 

 

“Neal, I think you should leave.”

 

“I came back because I missed you, Leanne. There. I said it. I was hoping we could mend things.”

 

Leanne turned her body towards him again, “Mend things? Neal. It’s been over two years. You can’t just come back and decide you want to be with me again. That’s not how it works.” She sipped at her coffee again. “What did you expect? You honestly didn’t think that we would just pick up where we left off and keep things long distance while you’re at John Hopkins, did you?” She paused looking down,  “Besides, I’m with someone else now.”

 

“Well--”

 

“No.” She interrupted. “I am with someone else now. He treats me right.”

 

“And I didn’t, Leanne?” He walked towards her. “Excuse me, but that’s bullshit.”

 

“Neal, I didn’t mean it that way. All I meant was that I’m very happy with him and I’m a little shocked you came back expecting everything would be fine between us.”

 

He backed up slowly towards the door, step by step. “I never stood a chance, did I?”

 

Leanne looked down into her coffee cup before looking up at him once again. “That’s the sad part, you did once.”

 

He looked down and nodded his head, “I see.”

 

Leanne tilted her head a little, a small pool of sympathy in her eyes. Neal placed his hand on the back of his neck and rubbed it back and forth.

 

“What we had was special, but it’s over. It’s been over for a long time.” She walked over to him, running her hand over his shoulder as she walked past him. “I’m sorry.”

  
Neal turned and watched her walk out of the room, coffee in hand. He had expected things to go a lot differently. He knew he had made his mistakes, however given the chance - he knew he could have fixed them. That was the problem,  _ could have -  _ past tense.


End file.
